Front brake callipers, discs and pads as the originals had seized! Some vibration front the front since I bought the car last October and after laying up for 3 months it only got worse. They were fitted today and the car also had a oil change service plus new brake fluid and a tank of Shell V-power petrol. Drives much smoother now. Wallet in a state of shock

Before laying the car up I drove a few miles to make sure the brakes were thorough dry and left the handbrake off hoping to avoid any brake issues. My efforts seemed to have worked as there was hardly any rust on the discs after storage.I knew there was a problem when I got wheel vibration and hot hubs on my first drive of the year. Does anybody have advice on what more I could have done to keep the brakes in good condition

roadvoyager1 wrote:Does anybody have advice on what more I could have done to keep the brakes in good condition

Use the car, standing for a long time just makes things seize up.

I second this. I recently bought a new Zed; and there seems to be a train of thought that because they are older they need to be cuddled rather than cherished...

My original one is 145,000 miles young, used regularly and has very limited running issues over and above a good service. My new (to me) one is a S50 M version, and I have realised that some of the people who have bought these cars seem to think that they should be treated like fine china - thats wrong.... They need to be looked after yes, but they also need to be used. In the last 12 months my "new to me" zed-m has done 250-300 miles and only 3500 over the last 3 years... Now some people think this is great and do this with their own cars and I must admit that when i picked it up it had no visible issues.....

But, then I took it for a proper drive, snake and woodhead passes, over to Sheffield and back over the peaks... beautiful drive; driven like it should; drive hard; brake hard; smile lots..... my grin was as wide as the back wheels.... I burst the rocker gasket and 2 of the braided brake hoses... Like physical exercise on a person a car needs to be used.

Whether it is a very first 1996 original or the last 2002/3 to roll off the plant. They are BMW's and are bullet proof - at 150,000 they are just getting warm. Use it, enjoy it, keep it happy and it will do the same

roadvoyager1 wrote:Does anybody have advice on what more I could have done to keep the brakes in good condition

Use the car, standing for a long time just makes things seize up.

I second this. I recently bought a new Zed; and there seems to be a train of thought that because they are older they need to be cuddled rather than cherished...

My original one is 145,000 miles young, used regularly and has very limited running issues over and above a good service. My new (to me) one is a S50 M version, and I have realised that some of the people who have bought these cars seem to think that they should be treated like fine china - thats wrong.... They need to be looked after yes, but they also need to be used. In the last 12 months my "new to me" zed-m has done 250-300 miles and only 3500 over the last 3 years... Now some people think this is great and do this with their own cars and I must admit that when i picked it up it had no visible issues.....

But, then I took it for a proper drive, snake and woodhead passes, over to Sheffield and back over the peaks... beautiful drive; driven like it should; drive hard; brake hard; smile lots..... my grin was as wide as the back wheels.... I burst the rocker gasket and 2 of the braided brake hoses... Like physical exercise on a person a car needs to be used.

Whether it is a very first 1996 original or the last 2002/3 to roll off the plant. They are BMW's and are bullet proof - at 150,000 they are just getting warm. Use it, enjoy it, keep it happy and it will do the same

I feel guilty about not really using my Z3M over winter, but inspection II (with some additional items) booked for Monday, and a long roadtrip coming up in May, June and possibly even July... Denmark, Faroe Islands, Iceland, Norway and Finland, and maybe further. I hope Giorgio will forgive me the neglect and behave well!

Bought this week: Bowden cable for cruise control (part# 65712228746). The E46 cable that came with the actuator I bought earlier doesn't fit an M Roadster.

Many thanks to those who took time to respond to my post. Well I certainly expected that the advice would be to use it and I fully understand the sentiment.

We live in the edge of the Pennines and, whilst this winter was mild and we have not had any real snow, in recent years we have had snow and ice regularly for 2 to 3 months over the winter. Standard issue is the shovel in the boot! Driving RWD on snow is not my idea of fun (my wife had an RX8 and snow did not suit it at all). My main concern is road salt; it does cause corrosion particularly to the under body and suspension. My best option is to use and enjoy my car for 9 months of the year and protect it from the worst of the weather for the other 3 month.

If there is advice that would suit my circumstances both I and my wallet would welcome it .

Putting the usage of your car to one side, I can't see why the pistons inside new callipers would seize simply due to not being used for three months unless there was something seriously wrong with the brake fluid inside the system. Assuming the brake fluid inside the system is Ok, I wonder if the problem is due to the "slider bolts". There is contradictory information on whether or not these should be lubricated. I believe I recall seeing a BMW TIS (technical information sheet) to technicians saying that they should not be lubricated with anything as this can cause a reaction with their rubber sleeves and result in clogging/seizing. Other non-BMW instructions I have seen warn solely against using a mineral-based grease that can react with the surrounding rubber sleeves and cause a clogging/seizing. Finally, some instructions say it is OK to use silicone lubricant or something like Castrol Red rubber grease http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/130679593752? ... 1423.l2649.

I changed my front pads last year and the last time they had been touched was with a BMW Inspection II in 2009 before I bought the car. I was interested to note that the slider bolts were not lubricated at all.

Might be worth examining your slider bolts. I think I'm right in saying they and/or the rubber sleeves can be renewed?

Thanks for the information Del. I bought the car last October and I understood that it had only covered 700 miles in the previous year. The last service was in 2010 (3,000 miles ago) and the last recorded brake fluid change was in 2007 (15,000 miles ago) so new fluid was on the "must do" list for early this year in any case.To me it points to excess moisture in the brake fluid and not enough use resulting in corrosion although it will be worth checking the slider bolts. Thanks again for your comments.

Heading straight through France to Brussels, then onto Cologne for a couple of night with a trip to the 'ring and onto Munich for a coupe of nights with a trip to the BMW factory. Finally on to a night in lille and back to blighty!

Now I really am jealous! I intended to visit munich this year but money hasn't allowed. I'm taking a friend of the wifes to heathrow to meet her husband who she's taking there on Wednesday for a surprise birthday treat. Nothing like large amounts of salt and wounds eh!
Please drop a post on here when you get back, I like to know what you thought.

I have bought new new shocks and springs all round, new top mounts, new drop links and anti roll bar bushes, SRS reset tool, furniture clinic respray kit for the seats and door cards and placed my order for the sport steering wheel to be re-trimmed with Royals.
Will be a busy couple of weekends. Can't wait!!

Buying one of e bay, Looks like a copy of the K&N but much cheaper from Fastlane styling, Worth a punt at £29 inc postage
Will see and report how easy to fit and how effective.
Will make sure every part removed is ready to go back on if not satisfied

Davejue1 wrote:Now I really am jealous! I intended to visit munich this year but money hasn't allowed. I'm taking a friend of the wifes to heathrow to meet her husband who she's taking there on Wednesday for a surprise birthday treat. Nothing like large amounts of salt and wounds eh!
Please drop a post on here when you get back, I like to know what you thought.

Bowler wrote:Buying one of e bay, Looks like a copy of the K&N but much cheaper from Fastlane styling, Worth a punt at £29 inc postage
Will see and report how easy to fit and how effective.
Will make sure every part removed is ready to go back on if not satisfied

Easiest job i have had so far, initially left the base of the air cleaner box in situ now out completely, Fabricated bracket attached to base of Power steering reservoir
to secure cone from moving too much. Initial feeling of better throttle response sounds better IMO also.

Six months tax...I put the hard top on for winter and I don't really enjoy driving it with it on, so no point taxing it to sit on the drive. Probably be spending a bit on parts and a service now the better weather is here.

SRS reset tool arrived today.
Had a bit of a panic as it kept giving me an error, but after reading the instructions it said turn the ignition on to pos 2 first and then plug it into the port, normally the other way round.
This worked a treat and said that there was a short on the drivers side restraint cable. I had already seen this was squashed up and had taken it apart and cleaned it up.

I wonder are these things actually of interest to anyone? What's next? Posting each time you buy some gas? I think this thread was for interesting ad-ons or rare parts which could be of interest to other z3 owners and not some spam thread where everyone "shows off" about each fuse and sponge he is using for z3 and each time he is paying road tax. Everyone here is paying road tax and buying sponges and fuses. You don't have to post about that.

I wonder are these things actually of interest to anyone? What's next? Posting each time you buy some gas? I think this thread was for interesting ad-ons or rare parts which could be of interest to other z3 owners and not some spam thread where everyone "shows off" about each fuse and sponge he is using for z3 and each time he is paying road tax. Everyone here is paying road tax and buying sponges and fuses. You don't have to post about that.

Jonttt wrote:let people know what you bought your Z3 this week. Whether it be an oil filter, dust caps or a new set of wheels, post it up on here and let people know

I see no harm in people posting about any purchase, no matter how small or seemingly insignificant they seem (to me). Sometimes it's of benefit to the others (aka "hey I need one as well, where did you buy yours?"), sometimes you get good tips about stuff you didn't even know is available for your beloved zed, and sometimes you'll get food for thought for fixing issues that have been bothering you for a while, but haven't been active enough to ask about what is needed for the fix. If a post has no relevance to me, I'll just go read another post.

I wonder are these things actually of interest to anyone? What's next? Posting each time you buy some gas? I think this thread was for interesting ad-ons or rare parts which could be of interest to other z3 owners and not some spam thread where everyone "shows off" about each fuse and sponge he is using for z3 and each time he is paying road tax. Everyone here is paying road tax and buying sponges and fuses. You don't have to post about that.

I also bought a zed 3 key ring which rather adore.
Maybe that's of no interest either, however this is a BMW z3/4 forum of genuine owners and enthusiasts alike. I for one am interested in other posts and have saved many (GBP) pounds and hours DUE TO THE TRIVIAL MINOR POSTS ON THIS FORUM.
Which is designed, no doubt for things that have been bought, hence the post title.

Sorry if I sounded offensive. I just thought how much more value you could add to your post if you mentioned the price, brand or why did you choose exactly this product. (I still don't know which "sponges are top quality".)

Sorry if I sounded offensive. I just thought how much more value you could add to your post if you mentioned the price, brand or why did you choose exactly this product. (I still don't know which "sponges are top quality".)

No I'm not offended in anyway, all zed owners are pretty cool in my book.

Absolutely incredible amount of free advice, parts and work arounds available on here from really knowledgable car mechanics enthusiasts and tyre kickers.

Bought a new BMW umbrella (for the missus) on e-bay from bmw minimarts for 15 quid, thought great bargain until I was in my local BMW dealer to price a rear window and thy have them there for 15 EUROS.
Also bought a beautiful BMW watch on e-bay (unused and in original box etc) for 50 quid!

Hi folks, fairly new to the forum. My latest purchase for princess Z, my '99 1.9 roadster was a wind deflector...but unfortunately once again I have bought the wrong one. Second time with a wrong model! So now I'm on the lookout for the correct one, gotta say I haven't seen this particular one yet on ebay. Regards..Dave